Camera bag that fits gear and laptop ... and counts as airline "personal" item.

[epp_b]

Hello!

I'm actually in the midst of looking for a replacement bag myself and was looking at the one you ended up choosing as well. Could you offer any more thoughts on how you're finding it?

I'm interested in things like gear capacity (is it going to fit a DSLR+battery grip+flash+extra lenses even with a laptop in there or do you have to be conservative about loading it?) And how is it comfort-wise when carrying it around all day?

My laptop has its own sleeve/pouch so I'm not necessarily interested in having a dedicated laptop compartment so long as everything will fit. I'm thinking largely between this bag and their medium sized one:

National Geographic NG 2475 Earth Explorer Medium NG 2475 B&H

Would really appreciate your user feedback to help me make a decision.

You can see my detailed thoughts in the customer review I left for the bag that I bought:
National Geographic W2160 Walkabout Medium Satchel NG W2160 B&H

Note that the bag to which you linked is smaller. You might be interested in the bigger version of it: National Geographic NG 2477 Earth Explorer Large NG 2477 B&H

 

[Infidel]

What counts as a personal item is often just up to the whims of the gate staff. The percentage of flights operating at max capacity is on the rise and now with checked bag fees, more people are pushing the limits of what they can carry on, thus cabin space is at a premium. I took a trip last week and both directions had my bag (20" upright roll-a-board) gate checked because the space was gone with 50 people still left to board. BTW, sitting near the front of the plane with only carry-on luggage is the best...last on, first off, no baggage claim to deal with.

I understand the need to carry photo gear aboard (I do it too, albeit with a lighter load), but sooner or later the carry-on rules are bound to be more strictly enforced.

 

[epp_b]

Both the NG bag that I bought as well as my previous bag (which was even larger than my NG bag) are within the acceptable size limits for personal items.

 

[Mathazzar]

Just FYI, I ended up going with their medium-sized 'walkabout' series. Saw the greenish ones in the store and was completely underwhelmed by the quality and padding. The grey walkabout series from NG seems much better put together. Would also like to pick up a Retrospective 20 (what an incredibly gorgeous bag!), from ThinkTank, at some point for a lighter day bag vs. a travel bag.

Thanks for the help!